Finding Stability, Reaching For Normality
by Zkname
Summary: Cloud's got no where to go and no one behind. So when he runs into an old friend his life seems to get too much of both. A look into a world where what might have happened if he never lost his memories.
1. Old Friends

"Cloud! Run!"

A sharp intake of air was taken from the man currently wedged in between two shipping crates. The smell of iron, metal, and oil overloading the sensitive nose. He let out a couple coughs and felt the back of his throat regurgitate. His head trying hard not to crumble into itself as it felt as if an elephant was sitting on it. His vision blotched and blurred.

He shook his head several times as the ringing in his ears cleared. The man became conscious of the fact that there was a dog barking next to him. Lately memories of the past had been overflowing and playing back rapidly. The horror of what happened just a week ago still replaying in his head. His comrade's blood still fresh in his hands despite how much he cleaned them at every bathroom stall he stumbled across.

The air was chilly and the sky lightly pouring down with rain. Thankfully his shitty luck was at least spared the wind. He squinted as he made out a silhouette in front of him and flinched when the screeching of the tire tracks passed by. Wiping his hand down his face he shook the nausea in his stomach and slowly stood up. The blotches of colors now becoming clear and the realization that he was being questioned after so long finally dawned on him.

"y… al… so?"

"Huh?"

"Yo… Alrig… I said"

The man in question wary of the stranger, it wasn't everyday a guard ran into a man carrying a blade larger than most men. The man grunted as a flashlight was pointed directly at his face. The guard at first took him for a regular bum and was about to chastise him for sleeping near the tracks like he usually does with the homeless.

They were on a boarding track on the shipping port on the poor side of Midgar. Usually at two in the morning the guard never has to worry about people getting off the train, but unfortunately loiters were common at this hour.

Finally having enough of all the irritating sounds around him, the man stood up and unconsciously gripped the handle of the blade in his left hand. His legs shook slightly as he stood and he grunted as he placed the blade on his back. Again shaking his head off as he felt as if the world was tilting.

The last thing he remembered before waking up here was him entering an empty train. He recalled being tossed out here by the train attendants when he didn't have a ticket. He honestly had no clue what he was doing here, he recalled his comrade saying something about a new life with a girl he used to know here. At that the man's brain clicked and he stuffed his hand down his right pocket. He could feel the outline of the letter he was asked to deliver. A dying man's last wish that was what he was here for, and at the very least it was the least he could do considering.

Trouble was where would he start? The only description his friend gave was that she was beautiful and tendered to flowers, with eyes as green as the planes of Gaia. He would have laughed if the situation called for it when he remembered that man's simplicity when it came to things.

The man was finally able to start to feel a small semblance of normality. Ever since he entered the metal city flash floods of memories had been returning to him. Things a lot of people would be put to death for knowing obviously too much. One thing was for sure, he had absolutely nowhere to go. He was about to open his mouth and explain to the guard the reason for his current state, before both men noticed another figure to their side.

"Cloud?!"

/

"Wow Oh my god it's been so long!"

The blond stared down at the saucer of alcohol in his hand and tried not to stare at the woman rummaging behind the counter he was leaning on. Images of Nibelheim surged through his head. Worst of all he kept remembering the incident with the famous Shinra hero and how he woke up in a green tube. God only knows what in the fuck they were doing to them.

He stared off from the corner of his eyes and noticed the calendar at the far end of the bar. He narrowed his eyes slightly at the date and he could only assume where he had been at for the past five years. Had he really been asleep that long?

"Cloud?"

The man stared up and immediately scowled as he reared his head back. Tifa's rather impressive bust caught him off guard and he quickly looked up. Her dark brown milk chocolate eyes stared at him in worry and uncertainty. Her dark raven ebony hair flowing down her shoulders like silk. The blond grunted again and drank down his vice as he returned the saucer. As she was about to get some more for him, the blond raised his hand.

"I don't have money"

"It's alright… It's on me, and besides it's not every day you run into childhood friend right?"

"I don't want any"

"..Ok"

An awkward silence fell upon the empty bar, the spinning fans still above them and the racked up seats did little to help. Tifa was cleaning off glasses and Cloud stared blankly at the wooden smooth counter in front of him. It had been over five years since they last met…. Well since Cloud last ran into her, he doubted she ever found out who he was during that incident.

On that note he decided it was time to leave, he didn't have anything to say and being around her was bringing up to many skeletons he would much rather not bring up. Tifa looked over shoulder as she heard the wooden stall screech back slightly and Cloud stood up with his back towards her. One thing was for sure, that scrawny short loner everyone called him back home wasn't so scrawny anymore.

He wasn't massive in muscle mass but he did have plenty and all of it was tight. His dark baggy cargo jeans, black boots and purple long sleeve zip up shirt did well in hiding that fact however. He picked up the blade he was resting on the counter with ease and slung it on his back strap. He was about to take his first step out of this bar before she called out to him.

"Cloud you're looking for work right?"

He looked over his shoulder and saw her leaning over the counter. The popular girl from back home was definitely the girl next door. She looked on edge and as if she was ready to spring up to tackle him if he so much as moved. The blond retracted his eyes away from her quickly and stared ahead at the exit. Now contemplating her offer that did sound appealing considering he had no clue how long he would remain here and a form of currency did sound appealing.

The knot in his stomach grew tighter and made him flinch in pain. On the other hand he'd be lying to himself if the fact that he could stay with someone who lived through the same nightmare and be able to sympathize with at least one other human being, did sound like a more appealing request. Tifa was possibly the last connection and trace to his old life left on this planet. Which would also probably be why she wanted him to stay.

The more the spikey haired blond thought about it however, the more memories from his childhood surfaced. It was funny really how much of her attention he wanted from her back then, now he'd do anything to keep her from looking at him. The more he thought about it the more convinced he was to leave and hopefully never stumble upon each other again. Besides he already felt pathetic enough, he didn't need to go through such great lengths for a little human contact.

"Thanks but no thanks"

Cloud replied simply as he walked away, Tifa bit her lip and looked down as she scanned the ground trying to come up with an idea to keep him from leaving. She hopped over the counter as she remembered the promise he made to her when they were kids.

"Wait Cloud what about your promise?"

To this man actually came to a halt as he was about to push the door open. Cloud narrowed his eyes on his fingers and blinked several times as more memories flooded through him. The street lights could be seen shining outside and outdoor ruckus could be heard from his position as the small city outside was still alive. That was the only thing heard as they fell into to silence once more. Tifa was caught off guard when she caught sight of him smirking, not at her but as he stared at the ground.

"I'm not a Hero"

"But!"

She quickly retorted and actually managed to grab to his sleeve as he was about to push out. Cloud was surprised by her strength and slowly turned to look at her. Their eyes interlocked and this time it was if she dared him to stare away from her this time. She was caught off momentum when she noticed the small green tint around his irises, the mark of a SOLDIER.

"You did become a SOLDIER didn't you?"

Cloud stared at her a long time now, the one thing that attracted him to her as child now evident again. Her fierce demeanor when she was serious, the one thing that attracted so much of the village back home to her. The man quickly stepped out of the way and brought Tifa slightly closer to him when the double door were suddenly kicked open.

"YEEEAAHHH BUDDY!"

In came a giant black stocky male with a thick beard. His physic was just quite frankly overbearing. Big brown boots, large green cargo jeans, and an open tan vest. A flat top fade was on his head, silver earrings, and a skull tattoo on his left arm. The one thing blatantly noticeable was the giant gun he had for a right arm. In toe were three other people, similarly dressed in light armor, all wearing headbands.

"BIGGS, WEDGE, JESSIE WE'RE GETTING SMASHED TONIGHT! OI TIFA!"

His loud blasting roar of a voice was enough to make the whole building shake. Cloud was about to drop his hand from reaching over to the handle of his sword when he came to the conclusion that he knew Tifa. Before he could do that though, all of them stopped laughing and stared over in their direction. An eerie silence soon followed and from their point of view it appeared as if he had cornered Tifa. With the scene the way it is, they were probably assuming he was mugging her or worse…. She was quite the catch after all.

"OI WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU MUTHAFUCKA?!"

The brash charging always head first bull roared as he pointed his gun arm in Cloud's direction. The three behind the black man all got into a fighting stance. The once descending hand over Cloud's shoulder began rising again and he gripped the handle. Before Tifa could intervene given as she had been pushed against the wall against Cloud's side, the man opened fire.

"Boss wat about Tif'?"

Biggs yelled out as he and the rest of the crew yanked on his shoulders. The man cursed under his breath at the realization and quickly stopped shooting. Unfortunately the rounds already left the barrel. Tifa stared wide eyed and flinched at the flashes coming from the man's barrels.

'Clink Clink Clink'

Tifa after a couple of seconds opened her eyes and realized nothing happened. Cloud stood sword drawn with it pointed at the man and stared at him coldly. The bullet holes off the sides of them indicated that the blond sliced them easily in half. The big black man and the three behind him stared at him with jaws dropped in disbelief. Before the bearded man could utter any words other than non-sense coherent mumbles Tifa voice easily thwarted his previous yelling…..

"BARRET WALLACE!"

/

"1,000 GIL?!"

"ARE YOU OUT OF YO FUCKIN MIND' WOMAN?"

"Barret you saw yourself what he can do, image how much easier the mission will go with his help"

"Who is the som' Bitch anyway? You're speaking a lot like you know him"

"He's an old friend"

Cloud to this grunted his disapproval at that remark off at the end of bar. He was leaning up against the wall arms crossed and for the most part eyes closed. Despite how their conversation had started off as whispers, Barret's stubborn attitude and loud voice made Tifa's escalate her own. It was honestly surprising for the Ex-SOLDIER to see Tifa so easily flustered.

The Tifa he knew wasn't necessarily quiet, how could she have been when she was the most popular girl in his hometown, but she never was one to raise her voice to such an extent. She was the kind of girl that kept her emotions to herself and you would have to try real hard to figure out. He had to be honest though despite growing up next to each other they rarely interacted with one another, so he guessed there was lot he didn't know about her.

The blond had to admit though the biggest shocker was how the girl dressed. It seemed as the years went on back home the girl seemed to show more and more skin. Tifa was in a tight black mini-skirt, a tight white tank top with suspenders to her skirt. Black elbow long sleeves and a pair of red gloves. He remembered her being a fanatic of martial arts and always being around Zangan.

"Hey! Spikey!"

Cloud without opening his eyes merely raised his right hand and caught the red velvet pouch filled with coins. From the weight he easily knew it wasn't 1,000 gil. He opened his eyes and pushed himself off the wall. He jingled the bag in his hands and he stared questionably at the boss.

"You get the rest when you earn it, ain't no way I'm payin ya 1,000 gil flat, lest you die and shit. What then? Me losing money fuck no"

Cloud pocketed the bag and deduced there was at least 250 gil in the small pouch. He was trying to remember exactly why he agreed to this. Not even a week into this city and he's already affiliated with some terrorist group. None the less he couldn't deny that 1,000 gil if spent wisely could last him the rest of his stay here if he managed to keep it for no more than two weeks.

"I want one more thing"

Cloud's silent voice spoke for the first time since talking with Tifa. His monotone voice slightly pissing off Barret and he grinded his teeth together. Tifa who was behind the counter again curious looked over at him as she served the three members of AVALANCHE some bourbon.

"Oh ya hot shot' what the fuck ya want now? 1,000 gil not enough for yo SOLDIER ass?"

"Information on someone"

To this the buff man stopped his ranting and was surprised he wasn't asking for more fucking money.

"Oh yea' who da hell ya lookin for'?"

"A woman"

"A WOMAN?!"

To this Barret had a hardy laugh as he said it. He never pictured this silent broader who he presumed to be asexual would be looking for someone of the opposite sex.

"Dems plenty o females in this bitch you gotta be moe specific you dip shit"

Cloud ignored him.

"She's beautiful, tends to flowers, and….."

Everyone now stared over at him as he seemed to be thinking as he scratched the back of his head. He had his eyes squinted real hard as he stared at his boots. What that damn idiot say?

"And?!"

"and…."

A brief flash of him in the back of the truck with an over genic black haired male laughing came into mind.

"With eyes as green as the planes of Gaia"

"…"

"Mofo, you sound like you just made her up! You even meet dis lady in your life? Besides that where in the fuck are you gonna find flowers in Midgar? Busta that ain't enough info to find one specific person in a place filled with millions of people you moron"

Cloud grunted his agreement as he passed by Barret. He may have found a Terrorist group of jackasses playing some sort of hero bullshit but he assumed even his description was far too vague to really pin point anyone. He fingered the letter in his pocket and walked to the door. The blond figured it was going to take a while before he finally found her.

"Forget about it then"

The blond responded as he pushed the door to the bar open.

"Cloud don't forget it's tomorrow at 0200"

Tifa yelled out as she was uneasy to just let him go. The blond merely waved a hand over his shoulder to acknowledge he had heard her.

/

Cloud ran his hand through his hair as he stared at the dark ceiling above him. He was lying on his back in an Inn near the 7th heaven bar. He had the fan spinning and he was just in the white t-shirt he wears underneath his zip up one. He rested his blade against the wall next to his bed and he closed the curtains. The clock read that it was almost six o'clock in the morning and figured he spent far too much time at that bar.

He sat up and let his arms fold over his thighs as he sat on the side of the bed. The blond ignored the laughing and loud music outside his door. No doubt the many drunks in the vicinity, he grabbed the letter on the counter and opened the paper. The last thing his friend ever wrote before the tragedy that befell him just a couple hundred miles from Midgar.

x

'Hey remember me? It's Zack!

How have you been? I know it's been a really long time since we've met and I promise I'll explain it all to you once I see you. I know it's abrupt and I really shouldn't be asking for favors but me and my buddy have run into a bit of trouble. Listen he's really sick and he can barely even move, he needs medicine and he's not getting any better. I'll be blunt we're on the run, we've been traveling for over a month now and I hate to say but I really got to get him to a doctor. Midgar has some of the best around, not to mention there's all sorts of work to be found. Listen if you could convince your mom to just let me keep him there for a couple days I'll really appreciate it. I promise I'll pay her back I swear. I'm in Kalm and I scored a ride in the back of truck so I'll be there in a day's time.

I guess now that I got the business end of things out of the way… How have you been? Honestly. I know a simple apology ain't gonna cut it but you better damn well believe I'm serious when I say that I am. Listen I can't really go into detail where I've been for the past five years but know this I'll explain to you everything. I hope you still let me have another date.

Take Care Aerith'

x

Cloud shook his head off and folded the paper back into the envelope. He felt it wasn't his place to read the letter directed to someone else but at least now he had a name. The blond couldn't really remember the times they were running; they were all such a distant blur. Just vivid dreams of being carried by Zack through the wilderness.

He recalled waking up in that green tube and Zack breaking it open. He didn't understand why he was in so much more ware then his friend. Yet again Zack had an uncanny way of healing.

'Dear god what in the fuck did they do to you Cloud?'

He flinched slightly as he clutched his head as his ears ringed loudly. Zack's voice burning the back of his brain stem and giving him Goosebumps. Once it subsided he found himself panting and sweating profusely as he let himself lay back down.

After that incident and leaving Shinra Manor everything else was just a blotched ink stained memory. Next thing you know you find your best friend bleeding to death and the only your still alive was because the bastards sent to kill thought you'd die anyway.

Cloud stared over at the massive sword slightly gleaming at the edge by the small light that entered through the curtain. Once he found that girl he'd go back and place that back were Zack fought to his death. After all it wasn't his and he felt even with that spikey black haired man gone, it still belonged to him. It's funny though, carrying that thing, it felt as if Zack was right there with him like he always was.

The blond finally shut his eyes as his exhaustion overtook him.

/

"Ya ain't First Class yet Strife, but you'll get there"

The man in the Shinra battle gear said loudly as he stared at the young punk who hadn't even been here for a year. Kid came in as a regular infantryman, which was abnormal within itself considering basic training for the infantry was considered the toughest and yet this boy just 13 years of age passed through selection.

He was turning heads for sure, and had been recently promoted to SOLDIER second class. Which each class of SOLDIER raised, the numbers in them are greatly lowered. Third class having the most recruits second class with a highly noticeable lesser number and the fabled First Classes of Shinra, which are just no more in number then the fingers of one hand.

Getting to become a SOLDIER was a feat within itself, getting into to First Class was downright legendary. First a recruit had to show the aptitude to even be considered SOLDIER, and then they were monitored if they could withstand the mako infusion to their eyes. SOLDIER by definition was Shinra's elite, otherwise known as Special Forces.

The blond panted and grunted as he stood up. His eyes slightly glowing green from the fresh injection of mako he received a day prior for ranking up. The fresh maroon outfit and tan boots showed his Second Class status. The training arena faded back to normal and an empty room was left in its wake once more. Cloud sheathed his sword behind his waist and walked up to the instructor.

"Listen up punk; you're getting paired up with some hot shot wannabe like you. We all figured ya'll make a good team considering, his names Zack Fair. Some backwoods country boy like you, meet him at the locker rooms after chow, dismissed."

"Sir"

Cloud grunted as he saluted and walked out of the training arena. As he did the sun was rising over the horizon. He walked down the corridors of the military installation known as Junon. He was quite away from home now. The young teen was caught off guard when a female soldier passed by and saluted him. He quickly saluted back, ever since coming into SOLDIER he often forgets his rank. After that incident he stared at the rising sun once more. The sun light rays warming up his face as they by passed the glass windows.

'I wonder what this guys like….'

With that last thought Cloud woke up with warm rays over his eyes.

/

"So are you going to go or not Hailey?"

"I don't know it's just, I'm waiting on Andrew…."

"Come girl who cares this is LOVELESS were talking about, if you're waiting on your deadbeat boyfriend to get you tickets your off your rocker"

Cloud did his best to ignore the two girls talking next to him as he waited for his burger to be cooked. He was in a stand setting on a stall, the ones next to him thankfully empty as he tapped his fingers on the counter and stared at the chef grill his burger. He decided to take upon himself to at least start somewhere in finding this woman and although the neighborhoods around this area aren't the best, even the most daring bandit thinks twice when they see him lugging that blade on his back.

This would also most likely be why nobody sits next to him. He took a small swig of the cup of cola he got with his meal and now quirked an eyebrow in the girls direction when they suddenly began whispering amongst themselves. He wouldn't have cared but they were staring at him which agitated him slightly.

"Susan, don't do it look at him, he looks like one of those dangerous types"

"I know but that just adds on to his cute face"

The girl in question was about to approach the blond to see if he'd like to attend the play with her. Both of them narrowed their eyes when a certain big busted scantily dressed bartender showed up. The fact that she sat down next to him without hesitation made them huff and mumble 'figures' as they walked out.

Tifa paid no mind to envious and hateful stares most of the female populous often gave her. Cloud for his part ignored the new presence and went back to staring at his food being made. It was almost finished as the chef put on a bun and began with his sauces.

"So this is where you were"

Again cloud remained silent as his food was placed in front of him and he began to eat.

"The usual"

Tifa said but the cook had already beaten as he began chopping away at the vegetables for her noodles. It was midday, somewhere a little passed five in the evening and only a couple more hours before their operation began. The long raven haired woman stared at the blond as he was already half done with his burger, displaying how hungry he was. Pretty soon a long pause occurred as is often the case between them and Tifa palmed her chin with her left hand as she rested her elbow on the counter. She made little circles with her index finger on the glass in front of her.

"So who's this girl you're looking for?"

"…"

"She your girlfriend?"

To this the blond actually snorted as he reached over for his fries and drank more of his cola.

"I have a message to deliver to her from an old friend and that's all there is to it"

"Oh so you're a delivery boy now?"

"…..Something like that"

The woman stared over at him now with arms folded on the counter as she thanked the chef for handing her plate. The blond was just munching down on his fries slowly with his arms folded on the counter. Even though Cloud was always cold and distant, he always had a vivid sense of adventure. The face she was seeing was one of an old man, who's seen in it, done it, and is tired of it. She took nibbles of her food and after a while she asked something she's wanted to know.

"Cloud what happened with you and Shinra?"

To this the blond tilted his head in her direction.

"I quit"

A vague and simple answer, which so easily described his personality.

"Cloud… You know what I mean"

The ever nagging voice ordering him to say nothing was once again losing to this woman. He honestly didn't know what it was about her, or maybe it had nothing to with her and more with himself. Was some dormant childhood need to have her attention and be the one she was looking at be what makes him interact with her when obviously doesn't want to?

"I was on the run"

"From Shinra?"

"Yeah, knew more then I should have and they found me a liability"

"You still running?"

"No, they think I'm dead and I'd like to keep it like that"

Their voices almost whispers as they ignored the various customers entering the stall and stared at one another. Tifa felt like asking what he did or what he knows to get an entire multi-million enterprise come hunting you down specifically but she felt asking that would be prying far too much. There so many things she wanted to ask though, so many questions she knew only he could answer. Cloud stared at his empty plate and wondered in what purpose does telling her all this benefit.

Maybe it was just nice to have someone to talk to and again Cloud was disgusted by the thought. He honestly felt like a walking shell with not one damn purpose nor direction to pull him. Everyone he knew from his past was dead, he had no home to go back to, and nothing to fall back on. So maybe when the last person who you do share memories comes knocking on your door he guessed it was kind of hard not to cling to that. The thing was the past was something the blond didn't want to remember.

With that last thought the blond stood up and left his payment as he turned around. Once more he felt himself halted as Tifa hand snatched his sleeve as he was about to leave. The dark brown haired woman staring at her plate.

"Don't forget tonight"

/

Standing on top of a fast locomotive stood a man with his cloths flapping rigorously by the momentum of speed. His long sleeve purple zip up shirt was parted slightly at the top of his chest to reveal the white T-shirt underneath. His baggy black cargo jeans blowing vigorously with the wind, showing his loose black belt. He stood tall at the head of the train as his black boots stayed in place. His leather tan gloves gripped his blade as he hefted it and strapped on his shoulders. He stared up and Shinra's home base stood proudly over all of Midgar.

With his right hand he gripped his blade as he stared at Shinra's headquarters.


	2. Simply Business

A/N:

God damn!

I have received possibly the worst number of views for one of my new stories coming out since I've been writing in this bitch. It's all good though, smaller audiences are you usually the most devote, that being said I ain't gonna bitch. So I hope the 100 views that caught this story are ready for another chapter.

/

Hunching down, a man with a massive blade in his right hand hopped off the now stationary locomotive he was snagging a free trip on. Dead ahead was one of Midgar's several major reactor cores. The guards nearby, startled by the new comer's presence immediately pointed their rifles at him. The man was still slightly hunched down, legs stretched on the concrete floor. His blade long across to the side of his body making the sword look even larger. The man's blond hair shielded his eyes and everything was still for a long pause.

Finally the man in one fluent motion stood while slinging his sword high to the right. He effortlessly spun it around so the sharp edge would face the men in front of him. Dressed in a purple zip up long sleeve shirt, with the top of his chest slightly parted to reveal his white shirt underneath, tan leather fingerless gloves, dark baggy jeans and black boots, the man gave a small smirk.

Cloud could easily tell each one was the standard grunt, something he felt he hadn't been in a long, long time. Before the men could raise their weapons to even shoot, the Ex-SOLDIER glided through the center of three men. One loud quick swing of sword was all that was heard before the blond put his weapon back on his back and began sprinting towards the reactor. The three silhouettes behind him were seen sporadically throwing up blood in the air before dropping.

Cloud gritted his teeth when he heard the warning bells ringing in every direction. There was no way anyone could have reached the alarm system in his path, so he deduced one of the super associates he was working must have had something to do with it. He kept that small ticking agitation at the back of his head in the knowledge that mission would now be a whole lot more strenuous thanks to that little fact. Easily hacking his way past every surprised guard he came across, he finally reached the top.

There was no mistaking this place as the rally point as he could hear Barret's voice screaming at Jessie to hurry the fuck up. The other two loons he had were pulling security behind them. Cloud ran up to them and took a look around his surroundings. Jessie was attempting to open the main gate and the reactor now looked within range as it towered over them. They could hear the hounds barking in the distance and Barret's patience was beginning to wade. The night was cold and brisk, but thankfully not an ounce of wind.

"Yo so decided to it after all huh?"

"….."

"Man bet Tif' had a fun time trying to convince you to even do it"

"Hm"

"So tell me you used to be in SOLDIER right? How was it?"

"SOLDIER? Isn't that the enemy?"

"Relax Jes' That's why I said used to be, he's on our side now"

"….."

"Anyway I don't think we ever properly introduced ourselves I'm-"

"I don't care, once this job's done I'm outta here"

Cloud finally responded with more than just a grunt and kept his eyes on the gate ahead. Doubts coursing through his head, asking himself if coming back into the belly of the beast just for some small chump change was really worth it. The luminescence of Mako was strong here as the reactor was practically oozing it. A small ding was heard, followed by a minor pause and then the double metal doors opened. Barret swung his arms and gave out commands. Basically telling them to move solo and not get bunched up. As he ran into the reactor he looked over his shoulder and looked at Cloud. A very blunt I don't trust you made its way over to his ears. Cloud shrugged and ran after him.

Right now his feelings were the least of his concerns as he ran around the installation. For the most part the guards were still in a befuddled state, which made mowing through them exceptionally easy. The blond knew though they'd soon be encountering heavy resistance later on. Following all three geniuses he heading into an entrance of the Mako Reactor. A massive empty area that split off into a T some bit of distance down.

All around there was nothing but a large empty hole. The area was pitch black and there was no telling how far deep down it really went. The blond sure wasn't going to find out as he bobbed and weaved through the small resistance they came across. The place was stagnant with the smell of chemicals and metal. Typical for a reactor, Cloud and the rest of AVALANCHE had passed the intersection. They were heading straight to the core of the reactor as the green luminance of Mako grew brighter. Cloud flinched as a growing pain started swelling slightly at the back of his head. Memories were a ten ton burden to carry sometimes.

The entered and they were pleasantly surprised when the alarm went off. Jessie smirked as she knew that her hacking skills paid off. Biggs was working on the first door and Barret stood a little behind him waiting for him to get it open. The sounds of clinking metal and gears turning flooded the ear canals. The big black man stopped his observation of his subordinate and turned over to the Ex-SOLDIER.

"This your first time in a reactor?"

"No…"

Cloud replied as flashes of his childhood home resurfaced briefly in remembrance to the Mako reactor that towered the mountains next to Nibelheim.

"You know tis' shit drains the planet's life source? That's why these som's of bitches got it so good here. They rob and bleed Gaia dry."

"….."

Cloud didn't respond as he leaned against the wall arms crossed as he waited for Biggs to finish up. The sounds of his fingers hitting the keys noisily clacking away. The blond didn't care, even if Shinra was sucking away life force from Gaia, he'd long be dead before they ran out of its resources. Quite frankly he felt like a hippie, helping a bunch of tree huggers out by shutting down a Mako Reactor.

With a loud hissing sound and the whine of metal screeching the metal door came undone. Cloud pushed himself off the wall and paid no mind when Barret grunted that he was with him from now on. Following the giant stocky towering man they headed towards the elevator up ahead. The pungent stench of soil and dirt, mixed with chemicals getting stronger the deeper they went in. Jessie worked the mechanics of the elevator and asked Cloud to push the button to go down.

After a good minute Barret appeared as if he was about to go on with one of his charades but a flat hand lazily raised by the blond leaning on the wall easily spoke to spare him the lecture. The blond really didn't care what the hell Shinra was up to these days, as far as mining for Mako, they'd been doing it for decades now. To him it was what it was; being associated with that corrupted corporation again was something the Ex-SOLDIER was in no hurry to get reacquainted.

Once the elevator stopped and they exited, they could easily tell they were nearing the main charge. The walls were lit with a bright lime green color and off to the side if you stared down all you'd see was a sea of glowing green. The blond squinted to readjust his eyes and shook his head off when he was starting to become dizzy. Cloud, Barret, and Jessie maneuvered through the many ladders it took to get down. The female of the group went straight ahead on a metal guard. She began working on the wires to the main charge and told them to go on ahead.

All there was left to do now was place the bomb. Cloud and Barret hopped down. They came down on a walkway with a bridge straight ahead to the main fuse of all the reactor. The blond narrowed his eyes as they walked over to it. It was far too quiet now for far too long. Something wasn't right, even the humblest idiot could see the hazy lines within the frame. The alarm system when it was going off should have alerted all of Midgar what was going on and that they needed back up. You'd think the most important part of the reactor would be the most heavily guarded.

Walking up to the core, Barret looked about his surroundings. It appeared he was thinking along the same lines as Cloud was as he looked around. The giant pipes that drained Mako coiled around everything. The man threw his palm into Cloud's chest and dropped the explosives in his hands.

"You place the bomb"

Cloud just wanting to get this over with, gave no retort as he walked up to the core. Like everything else it was covered in heavy metal, a big turning wheel dead center in the middle. The blond quickly rerouted the wires that hooked up to the main system and linked it with the high explosives in his palms. They weren't carrying a lot of explosives on their persons. To blow up something this big they were using the reactors stockade of highly flammable materials against itself. The biggest resource was the Mako itself, and that made a pretty damn big bang.

Once Cloud was finished he stood back up and there was long standing pause. When they were about to take their first steps back, the alarm came back full force, this time baring a little bit of bad news. The whole area was immediately doused in red light, followed by very irritating ringing.

'WARNING'

'WARNING'

'WARNING'

'SELF-DESTRUCT INITIATED EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY'

'TEN MINUTES BEFORE MELTDOWN'

Both parties were about to start booking it towards the exit before they heard the sounds of metal screeching violently. They stared up and caught sight of a massive orange tinted machine in the shape of a scorpion. The railway they stood upon shook violently when it landed 15 meters in front of them. Barret quickly began pelting bullets at it and it offered a giant sweep of its tail in return. The blond grabbed the collar of the gun armed man and hefted him up as he leaped up. Barret letting out a big 'wahhh' as he did and then an 'ooph' as he dropped him.

Time was ticking and they really didn't have time for this thing. Scenarios and tactics ran through the Ex-SOLDIER's head like he had been trained to for so long. Legs slightly parted gripping his blade with hands he stood unmoving at the machine now doing some odd scan. When the blond saw its tail rise that's when he moved. A shock blast was fired at his position but impressive skill he slashed the shot in half as he leaped up towards the contraption. Two massive craters could be seen on either side of where Cloud stood.

'Sometimes you gotta be Braver!'

Zack's voice etched in the back of his head as he was high above the machine. Bringing both hands back while gripping the handle of an heirloom who knows how many times it had been passed down. Barret stood in awe as he saw the man literally jump higher the whole security bot and caught a brief glimmer of Cloud's giant blade before the guy came down with it. The Ex-SOLDIER with expert precision landed perfectly on the ground, directly in the center of the machine above him. The giant orange bot stood rigidly in place for a long pause before loud hissing noises started to surface, no sooner after that the machine fell into two separate halves. Cleanly cut at the middle and before Barret could get his disbelief back in control the blond was already taking off.

"Hurry up!"

Gritting his teeth the big man followed in suit at the man now readjusting his larger than life blade back on his back. They both sprinted across the bridge and climbed the ladder in a frantic haste. The blond narrowed his eyes when he caught Jessie not moving and it appeared she was struggling with her foot. Panic written all over her, he rushed to her side and made quick work of barbs of wire that had entangled her foot. With a now relieved thanks she led the way back to the elevator. Cloud felt his agitation rise when he heard the security system declare five minutes remained to leave the vicinity.

Surviving all the bullshit he's been through already just to meet his end by this dumb mission just left a bad taste in his mouth. He'd also never live it down if he happened to run into a black haired Ex-SOLDIER in the afterlife. For some reason he heard someone chuckle in the distance when that thought came too. Once the elevator opened up, Wedge and Biggs had already opened the doors once more. Their frantic waving at the exit wasn't helping matter though. They were almost scotch free when they reentered the long intersection on the catwalk. The rumbling and the vibrations under their feet told them, the explosion was just around the corner.

Coming up on the turn everyone sprinted as fast as they could, Cloud in the rear to make sure his finance came to fruition. He saw Jessie trip and without missing a beat he easily picked her up by wrapping her left arm around her waist. After he did that he pulled her in close to his body and jumped towards the exit. At that exact moment the reactor blew up and spewed a wall of fire on the catwalk they had just sprinted through.

/

Sounds of constant clicking made the blond slowly blink his eyes open. The woman in his arms groaned and shuffled slightly. The spikey haired man made sure not to crush her as he started pushing himself off her. Jessie blinked several times as she noticed her predicament and muttered quick apologize as an unnoticeable red fringe adorned her cheeks. The blond scratched the back of his head as he stood and cracked his neck as he became aware of his surroundings. They were in a tunnel, Wedge and Biggs were working on something by the crash site now just rubble.

"Alright Boss we need to clear out"

With a nod Barret and the crew began running towards the exit of the tunnel. It was just explosion after explosion with these guys as the ceiling burst into flames. Cloud easily leaped outside and the rest followed suit, the night sky smelled of ash. All of them stared at the flames for a little while before Barret's voice broke them of their reverie.

"Alright split up and meet back at Station 8, you dumbasses better be on that train cuz it ain't gonna wait"

With that everyone scattered and a blond remained leaning up against the wall arms crossed. His eyes piercing at Barret as if it was obvious what he wanted without being said. Barret flung him another gil pouch and again the blond stared at him blankly.

"There's another 250, you get the rest back at the hideout"

With that the man disappeared and an irritated former service member pocketed the pouch. Why couldn't he just pay up so he could be on his marry way. With a sigh he pushed himself off the wall and figured he might as well catch that train. He walked up the stairwell on his left and began walking towards the main city of this sector. The growing posters of LOVELESS and neon signs for bars and strip clubs told him he was getting closer. He saw random pedestrians running amuck in hysteria over what just happened.

He ignored the high number of civilians staring up at what once used to be a Mako Reactor. Cloud walked by people left and right trying not to draw attention to himself, thankfully they were all distracted by what just happened.

"Excuse me.."

Cloud came to a hold and stared over to his right. It was a female in a pink dress with a small red coat over her shoulders. He noticed the big silver bracelets on her wrists and how she cradled a basket full of flowers. Her eyes were covered by her long bangs as she seemed to be slightly hunched over shuffling threw her basket. Again Cloud sneered away when her cleavage was visible by the position, they were nowhere near as big as a certain girl he knows but for some reason it did unease just as much if not more so than the bartender waiting back at the hideout.

"What happened?"

"…..Nothing"

Cloud was momentarily stupefied by her green eyes; they clashed so well with her vibrant brown hair. He took quick notice of the basket and saw the numerous flowers inside them. They almost appeared as if they were glowing. Something in the back of Cloud's head clicked as if he had found something he had been searching for.

"Listen… I don't see many flowers in Midgar.."

"Oh these? Here would like one there only one gil"

"Yeah…"

Cloud handed over the small gold coin to her and in return she handed him a white tulip. He was about to ask her where she found these, to give him basis on somewhere to start for his search. From her appearance in such close proximity from the description Zack gave him he felt like asking what her name was but before anymore conversation could be had he saw numerous troops coming towards his area.

Whether or not she was the girl he was looking for would have to wait. For all he knew she could be just another random stranger. He began walking in the opposite direction the Shinra troops were coming in and he decided to take the alleyways. As he left, he never noticed the flower girl narrow her eyes at him.

'He reminds me so much of….'

/

"Hey you! Wait!"

Cloud began sprinting down the alleyway as multiple troops began surrounding him. He darted to his right when he came across a large opening between the buildings. The blond immediately turned the opposite way when he saw just as much numbers come from that side. He growled when he noticed the same damn thing when he picked his new direction of travel.

"Give it up we got you surrounded"

True to those words he was bubbled in and they began approaching him cautiously. The blond looked over his shoulder and realized it was an opening to the tracks that ran along the tunnels. The small distant vibration under his feet told him the train was coming closer. Once they approached passed a certain line the blond turned around and hopped off the ledge before they could capture him. right on queue he landed on top of the locomotive and ducked down when it reentered the tunnels.

"Think Cloud made it?..."

Now to his breaking point on the number of times that had been asked, Barret slammed his arm against the crate next to him.

"How am I suppose to know? I look like a mind reader to ya? Jest shut up and quit yo mumbling damn!"

The enormous leader of the AVALANCHE crossed his arms and stared off away from his three members. One thing was for sure that man was defiantly still alive, no way someone that strong could be done in by just grunts. The memory of Cloud slicing that robot in half replayed through Barret's head at that last thought. Those were SOLDIERs huh? They might as well not even be human.

Before he could dwell deeper in his thoughts everyone was interrupted when they heard knocking on the side door in the cart they were in. They paid no mind to it believing it to be debris smacking against the train and went back to whatever they were doing. When it occurred for a third time, Jessie was about to stand up and open it before it was raked open. Cloud came in doing a quick back flip and he shook his head off as he stood.

Everyone hopped up startled and then they all yelled his name in surprise. The blond male paid no heed however and walked back to the door to shut it. Once that was finished he turned over to the leader who was currently shaking with anger.

"You jis come waltzing in here like that after ya got everyone worrying over yo skinny punk spikey ass' ya faggot!"

Cloud stared blankly at the man as he leaned against the wall like he always did. A brief thought of saying that's just what I do surfaced at the back of his head but that would make it sound too much like Zack for his liking. So with that in mind the blond merely shrugged his shoulders slightly and gave a small sorry. Barret growled and told everyone to get on the next cart, for some reason that quite punk got on his nerves. The blond wasn't cocky, but the way he carried himself was like he was saying that he was better than you.

After that short meeting and reconsolidating back in the train. The trip from there was pretty short, Jessie seemed to want to teach Cloud on the cities tunnel systems for whatever reason and the blond merely amused her to waste time. The whole time that pink haired dressed flower girl kept running through his mind and in his absent minded state he fingered the envelope in his pocket. The big question being asked in his head over and over if it was her kept plaguing through his mind. The smell of daises still fresh on his nose, it had been such a long time since he's ran against a woman that actually carried the scent a woman would. Tifa smelled too much like alcohol for his liking, not that she could help it he guessed. For some reason the blond thought of his mother when he thought of the girl he just ran into. Now that was a woman he hadn't thought about in a long, long time.

The train came to stop and pretty much everyone on it came off. In the height of a real first successful mission, the members of the AVALANCHE laughed and cheered as they jumped around everywhere. Barret despite all the yelling and screaming he did previous to arriving back home was smiling softly to himself. After a good minute though he knew it was time for business.

"Alright! Biggs, Wedge, Jessie meet back up at the Seventh bar, les tell Tif' the good news you som' bitches"

With a loud chorus of 'yeahs' they ran together back into town. Cloud stared at the scene with hidden amusement. He was slightly foreign to their celebration, Cloud was always a loner at heart and to this day he still is. All that time with Zack, still didn't get him out of that mind state. He guessed he was a little more sociable now thanks to him though. It was dead at night now probably around four in the morning.

When Cloud walked back into the scene, he could here loud commotion coming from the bar and Barret's loud rampant voice. Not a second later and people after people kept running out of that bar in a hurry. Tifa could be seen coming out and bowing her apologizes to everyone. The blond for some reason felt extremely out of place being here. With a heavy sigh he scratched the back of his neck and walked up to entrance. Barret was standing there arms crossed as he surveyed the people that just left.

Cloud walked up, and decided it was about damn time for him to be getting paid in full.

"Heh heh, here to meet up with your little baby?"

"Little baby?"

To this the blond was genuinely confused on what the hell the man was insinuating.

"Don't act like you don't know what I mean, go on ahead"

Barret once again just staring out at the crowd that dispersed moved to the side to let him in. Cloud walked up the stairs and went inside. He was surprised to see a little girl walk up to him and then quickly run away from him. Tifa who had been wiping down the counter saw this and quickly went to the girl's aid. The blond scratched the back of his head awkwardly when Tifa asked the little girl if she wanted to say hi to him. The bar now obviously empty thanks to the little stunt pulled not two seconds ago. The three AVALANCHE members munching down on a nearby table on what he assumed Tifa had cooked.

The girl despite appearances was very homely from what Cloud could remember. After Tifa's mother passed away she tendered to all the household chores back in their hometown. Lost in his thoughts he failed to notice how close the bartender had gotten as she crossed her arms behind her back and leaned forward towards him. An action that quickly irritated him quickly, to which he guessed was probably why she did it. Leaning back the blond stared at her questionably at her smiling face.

"Is that a flower Cloud?"

The Ex-SOLDIER realized the small flower he had purchased was sticking out of his pocket. He took it out and held it for a moment. The girl once again flashing through his head.

Who was she?

"Is that for me?"

The question far more sullen and surprised then it ought to have been. Cloud stared at Tifa a minute and for some reason a brief flash of a memory overwhelmed him.

'No darling don't tell me you're going to give that flower to that girl next door, you know how she and her friends treat you, and that blasted father of hers always blaming you for her stunt running up that mountain'

He remembered as a boy how he crushed that flower when his mother reminded him of all the teasing she and her friends always did to him. It was a rose and he remembered how the thorns made his palm bleed. His mother applied rubbing alcohol and bandaged them up.

'Cloud you know what you need when you get older, find a nice girl. An older girl, someone who'll take care of you and cook for you. Not some young pretty thing who dolls herself up all the time to get all the boys. A nice homestead girl honey, I think that's what's best for you'

He didn't know why he was remembering his mother so much. The blond tried not to think about her too much. It wasn't that he didn't love her, she was probably the only woman in existence that he could say he did without self-doubt. It was just too painful remember that she wasn't around anymore. Back home he was always teased because of her, kids were truly the cruelest things in this world, you just don't know any better as a kid. They always crossed the line in making fun of Cloud back home in those days. Saying how she was a lonely harlot and that he was a momma's boy. How could he not be? His father deserted them and died god knows where. His mother never told him much of his father, and that was fine with him, he never really much cared for someone who was never there.

"Cloud?"

The blond blinked out of his stupor and found himself back in the bar. He extended his hand and handed the flower over to Tifa. She was pleasantly surprised and offered him a smile back as she went to find a vase to put it in. Times have changed; the boy he used to be would have never had the courage to give Tifa a flower. Now it wasn't a matter of courage, just indifference in the fact that he wanted to be left alone.

The small girl looking up at Cloud briefly before she met his eyes which instantly made her look down and hide behind Tifa's leg.

"Oh you haven't met her have you Cloud? This is Marlene"

The small girl timidly looked up and stared at him. To her, he was over bearing and intimidating with that giant sword on his back along with his glowing eyes. She was in a pink dress and on her neck collar was a yellow bow tie. Before Tifa began chastising her for being rude Cloud already had his back turned and was heading towards the exit. Truth be told the blond hated kids and being around them made him uneasy, the taunting mean laughs would always surface when he was around them.

Tifa set Marlene down on the counter and was about to run after the Ex-SOLDIER before Barret stormed in.

"Papa!"

The little girl stood up on the counter and yelled with glee as he approached. Barret chuckled and she launched herself at him. The big man in turn tossed her in the air as she laughed gleefully and Barret rested her on his shoulder. After that little reunion the boss called everyone downstairs as he hit the pinball machine in a particular area and it began to descend. Cloud was now getting annoyed; he wanted his pay so he could leave already. At the corner of his eye he saw Tifa go back to cleaning up the place and decided to get it over with as he hopped down.

Barret was slugging away at a punching back, Jessie was typing away at a computer while looking at the news. Apparently their latest fiasco was already on the front headlining news. Wedge was on the table dealing with some blue prints and Biggs was rocking out to whatever was playing in his earbuds.

"Hey hot shot, I wanted to ask if they was anyone from SOLDIER today?"

"No, just grunts"

The blond responded crossing his arms as he stared at the little girl next to her father swinging her legs on top of boxes. After a long awkward pause and Barret going back to his punching bag. The blond turned around and went walking back to the pinball machine.

"About my pay"

"I'll be upstairs in a minute"

With that Cloud went back to the upper floor, he saw Tifa leaning over the counter as she appeared to be deep in thought. The blond walked over and decided a drink sounded pretty good at this time. He sat down on a stall and crossed his arms on the counter. Tifa now aware of his presence walked over to him.

"What'd ya like?"

"Something strong"

Cloud bluntly stated, it had been a rather long day and in just an hour or so the sun would rise. Tifa nodded and went to work on her mixers. The blond found it quite odd to see her working here of all places, yet again Midgar was known to change people. He just remembered her bragging about being a martial arts superstar back then, that seeing her serving some booze kind of showed were dreams tend to lead up. What he'd know though, Tifa even back then was the kind of girl that didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. If life would have gone on normally he wouldn't doubt she'd be Nibelheim to this day. She wasn't the type that struck him as wanting to go and see the world.

Reflexes took over his thoughts as he hand easily caught the glass that slid over to him. With a glass on the rocks and took a sip of whatever concoction she brewed up. She wasn't lying when she said she had just the thing. Shaking his head off and ignoring her slight giggles he finished the glass. Tifa came and picked it up, as she wiped the surface it was just on. A long pause insinuated afterward as she busied herself cleaning the dishes and Cloud tapped his index finger on the counter. When the sound of the pinball machine coming up was heard Cloud stood up and Tifa never turned her back.

Barret was seen coming up with his arms crossed and after a brief grunt he dug into the side of his shirts pockets. Pulling out a much heavier looking pouch he chucked it at Cloud who now for the third time caught it easily. He once more raised his eyebrow at the man when he noticed it was more than what he expected.

"It's a thanks from me for saving Jes' all them damn times"

Cloud pocketed the coins which now were in the number 1400 gil. The jump was done, the money was earned, and he just checked out, it was time this SOLDIER started using his legs. The blond was always awkward with goodbyes, the gun armed man must have realized this as he already pushed the button to descend again. Tifa hadn't turned her back from cleaning the dishes. As the spikey haired mercenary was about to take his first steps out of the bar he heard her voice.

"I can supply you with that kind of money regularly if you stay"

"…..Thanks but no thanks"

Cloud looked at the entrance of the bar and saw light enter through the crevices. Sunrise had arrived and left the bar in warm glow. The spinning fans turning slowly above them and sounds of clinking glass dwarfing out all else.

"You'd walk out on a Childhood friend!… on a promise of your own word?"

This time when Tifa spoke her voice was a little stronger in volume and in strength. The woman's back still turned to him as her hands clutched the sides of the sink. The blond began walking away from her not the least bit phased by her statement. Blunt and ever to the point the man responded.

"Why are you trying to guilt me into staying here for a second time?"

There were many reasons of course; Tifa just couldn't find the words. She was always terrible at expressing herself, so much so that when it came to how she truly felt about things she just ultimately decides stay quiet. The haze in her memory of Nibelheim she knew Cloud had all the answers and for some reason her very being was dying to know what that was just so she could bury the hatchet of her past once and for all. As Cloud's footsteps were heard farther and farther apart, Tifa's frantic attempt to find a reason rose. By the time he opened the door, and the sunlight flooded the bar though she stopped trying.

"I'll see you around"

The dry humor of Cloud's statement was lost on both of them. Still it didn't stop the empty smile from growing on the Ex-SOLDIERs lips as his face was basked in the sun's warmth.

/

A/N:

I recently have been seeing a shit load of material in references to Final Fantasy 7. I must have played that game easily five times over till the very end, maybe even more. Writing about it was always something I wanted to do. Again the audience for this story may be small, but I am truly enjoying my time writing this and so long as my 100 viewers are liking it too they'll be plenty more chapters to come.


	3. Repentance

**A/N**: God damn, I went around the story boards to get a little motivation and material for my story. I couldn't find one damn story that didn't involve man on man love, which is fine obviously that's why you come here. What a more perfect way to write out your gay fantasies then on this sight. There were a high percentage of Cloud giving some cock and balls or taking it from the ass with Sephiroth. Which profound's me, writing out your dick on dick fantasy is fine with me so long as I don't have to read them, to each his own... and that guys dick as well I guess. I could never write that kind of situation up though, so coo dos to y'all. I mean writing about the arch villain who kills your girl, butchers your entire village, and makes it his life's duty to kill you, suddenly wants to make out with you and have gay butt sex... **WHAT!? **

/

/

/

"Simply Amazing!"

"The human body has been known to show immediate illness and death when overdosed to exposures of Mako"

"That explains the phenomenon on why there are such few in SOLDIER, the ability to store and use Mako within itself is a special gift usually reserved for the Cetra which are now extinct. This explains how there are so few in SOLDIER, a very small percentage of people in Gaia are able to harness and utilize Mako, let alone store it"

"This specimen is simply fantastic, never have I seen someone be able to consume so much Mako without dying. His body is not of an Ancient but for some reason his body gurgles Mako like a drain in a sink full of water. Simply outstanding it has been two years now since we've began this experiment and we've put more Mako into this specimen then the average number of 100 humans could not withstand!"

"How much more can we ingest?!"

"Oh the possibilities are becoming endless!"

"At this rate he'll be on the same level as SEPHA-rrrrrssss"

'static'

'static'

'static'

"What in blazes this damn contraption is simply worthless sometimes graahhh"

"Prof-sss H—oooo"

"What!?"

"Were bringing the Reunion test subject out as you've commanded"

"Good, good"

"What of the SOLDIER 1st Class?"

"Bah! That damn thing couldn't even withstand even a morsel of Mako. His wounds haven't even fully healed yet so I can't even begin body modifications yet…. How disappointing. Leave him be, if it weren't for Shinra's request to keep him I would have thrown him away at the start of this process"

"Yes sir"

"How much more time do I have on this blasted recorder?"

"Hm I can turn it off right now Professor"

"Go ahead I've taken my notes, now give me those scissors on the table it's time for a little reconstruction"

The man lying on the table had no clue where he was, he faintly could hear muffled voices. The sounds of an EKG constantly beeping and the place smelled like formaldehyde and pesticides. The dark silhouettes in the back shuffling came closer. He felt someone open his eye socket and his vision was obstructed by a bright light. Before his vision completely went black again a sharp sting was felt in his retina.

/

With a jolt Cloud woke up breathing heavy. He ran his hands through his hair and wiped his face off. It had been two days now since he's left the 7th heaven bar. He's traveled through most of the section 8 but still had no luck in finding that woman he'd encountered after the mission on the Mako Reactor. For some reason his gut told him to start with her, he looked over at the nightstand and Zack's envelope appeared as if it was glowing by the suns rays.

Sitting up on the bed in an Inn, he looked around. Plain and clean, he went over and drank down a water bottle on a desk shelf, complimentary to all guests who stay the night. Deciding it was time for a shower he began walking towards the bathroom. Before undressing he walked over to the sink and he stared at himself. His spikey hair high as always but he looked at his eyes. His irises were covered in so much Mako, he stared a long time at his own blank face.

He stopped when he felt a familiar sharp sting to the back of his sockets.

/

In a courtyard in Section 8 next to a big city fountain many various people were gathered chatting away. Couples were spotted in high numbers seeing as the LOVELESS play was tonight. Cloud sat on one of the stone benches that circled the fountain and ignored all the voices around him. He was already feeling highly uneasy and awkward as he sat alone on the bench.

He had waited in this vicinity for quite a bit now, hoping to spot that woman the last time he was here, but to no avail. He couldn't fathom why tonight she wouldn't be here, seemed like a perfect opportunity if you asked him. A lot of people, and a good way to swindle those flowers. Just imagine how bad you'd be perceived by the girl in your hand if you were so cheap you wouldn't buy a one gil flower for her.

'She has to show up'

He told himself as he stood up when far too many people were beginning to swarm around that place. He was amazed by all the shops and nice looking real-estate when just a couple blocks down under this place laid probably the poorest section in all of Midgar. The rich were never too far for the poor. The cobblestone sidewalks, pristine venues, and well decorated walls were littered all over section 8. A massive outdoor mall was the best way to describe this place. It was littered with packed shops, theaters, bars, and clubs.

The brisk night air was hardly felt; he made his way through the crowds keeping an eye out for any traces of pink. He had to admit that woman did look good in pink. As he passed by an electronics store he paused to stare at the news from all the TV's stacked on one another at the display window. Apparently he wasn't the only one as a big crowd that seemed to be growing all circled around. Pictures of the section 5 Mako Reactor was shown. Everyone talking in whispers amongst themselves as they listened in.

"Yes it seems the rogue group known as AVALANCHE, have indeed infiltrated yet another Reactor. Now Shinra Inc. are not releasing much to the public at the moment but they are saying they have it under control."

At that same moment as the announcer gave that statement the small picture on the right hand side displaying the Section 5 Mako Reactor, could be seen experiencing a large explosion on the bottom half of the Reactor. Now the talking became more frivolous and frantic in the crowd as people were running up to the TV. Cloud grunted and shoved hard at the people rubbing against him. Many were going to retort on what was his problem before they noticed his attire and the big weapon on his person. It was safe to say no one said anything about it as they formed a circle away from him in the middle of the crowd as to not touch him.

Cloud ignored the stared and narrowed his eyes at the TV. Annoying flashes of Tifa's face playing through the back of his eyes. He said he was over and done with it, but he couldn't help the twitches his body were telling him to go there. The promise of when they were kids replaying over and over.

'Whenever I'm in trouble, my hero will come and rescue me.'

With that Cloud pushed and shoved his way out of the crowd with a full on sprint. He didn't know what his drive or imitative for moving really was but, for some reason he kept running in the direction were all this was taking place. All the trains were temporally down, so he'd have to use the back streets and alleyways if he wanted to make it there quickly. With impressive speed he hopped off wall to wall and easily reached the roofs of the buildings. From there he began hopping from ledge to ledge, slightly panting but not slowing down. As another explosion was heard and more fire could be seen even from where he was, he gritted his teeth as he sped up.

'I want to at least experience that once'

'Then just wait for me then'

Cloud spoke in his head as if she could hear him. The SOLDIER looked at the fires coming from Reactor number 5 and kept making his way ever closer. Gripping the handle of his blade he sprinted even faster.

/

Tifa panted from exhaustion as she socked another Shinra grunt in the face and then performed a roundhouse kick to a guard that tried hitting her in the back with an electric rod. Many people would wince when they heard the crack of his neck when she did that. With that last encounter Tifa dropped to knee and began taking big breaths. Barret was heard growling behind her as he unleashed massive amounts of lead to the troops trying to take them from the rear. They were in an intersection that made a big T on the cat walk. Like all the Reactors had, right now both members of AVALANCHE were on a knee back to back.

They lost track already how long they had been holding down on this section. The bomb was in place, and they both knew they had to get the hell out of there. This time however, there were obviously far more reinforcements. Shinra had been expecting this time and upped the ante.

"Barret this is bad"

Tifa spoke softly as she stared as even more troops came into her view from her line of sight.

"Tch, I know woman I know"

The man responded as they both simultaneously stood up and Barret sneered as more guards came through his line of sight. They were getting cornered in from both sides and that was obvious to both members. Barret was to infuriated with the fact that he fell for a trap to really formulate a way out of this, they were ambushed from all sides. Tifa took a deep breath and ran into the masses running into her.

'Beat Rush'

Tifa didn't pay much thought to her old mentor's voice, Zangan at the back of her head as she unleashed a series of combos to the seven troops that stormed at them. Her fist temporarily glowed with energy and each troop she punched went flying off the catwalk. Her strength was downright scary as one after another she sent each man to their long drop.

Barret for his part felt his gun arm start to sizzle and he grew a smirk as a big bubble of energy began to concentrate on his barrel. The black thug held his arm with his left hand for more support as a big fire ball began surfacing on his gun arm. The advancing men were too late to retreat in the opposite direction as Barret unleashed his attack.

"BIG SHOT MUTHAFUCKA'S DIE!"

Firing his shot Barret laughed as he stepped back from the recoil of his shot and watched as the once advancing group of troops coming in from the rear were all blown away off the catwalk or lit on fire. Both the dark haired brunette and the father of one believed the worst was over but a small sound of hands clapping reached their ears. They looked at entrance to the Mako Reactor they had just exited from and out came a man in a red suit.

After he was done clapping he put his hands in his pockets and smirked with a big cigar in his mouth as he walked further closer to them. Tifa and Barret's hope on escaping diminished completely as further troops surrounded them once more. There was a long pause before anything was said and a small gust of wind came blew by on the dark night. With a long drag of his cigar the man took his right hand out of his pocket and left the left hand. Taking his cigar out of his mouth and then blowing away the smoke incased inside he looked at them.

His old face wrinkled, his blond hair slicked back, his blond bushy mustache twitched, his pot belly poking out slightly, and his suit tacky. His appearance reflected his personality perfectly, gluttonous. With a hardy laugh, followed by hard coughs and then a wad of spit the man sneered at them. Barret and Tifa still gob smacked that they were actually in the presence of the overseer of all the factions of the Shinra Corporation.

"Well, well, so this is who's been disturbing my business huh, a little princess that dresses like a whore and a big black thug who doesn't like the man giving a foot up his ass huh?"

"Hey fuck you, jes' you wait, I pop you and this whole thing falls to pieces"

"Yes, yes, and you were who again?"

"AVALANCHE! And don't you forget it"

Barret roared at him as he flipped him off, the president amused simply took another drag of his cigar.

"Yeah punk smile while you can, This place is goin' up with a BIG BANG soon, Serves y'all right you fuckin parasite"

Again the president laughed in earnest and that further aggravated the man whose life had been reduced to nothing thanks to the man in front of him. Barret would have not spared any words and just shot the son of a bitch by now if it weren't for all the muzzled currently pointed at them. Even still he'd still shoot, it may have caused him his life but ultimately he would be sparring this world and his life was a small price to pay for that cause. He had Tifa with him though, and he didn't want anyone else's blood on his hands. Barret had enough of that back in Corel.

"It's such a shame you get blessed with such a pretty death by fireworks, all to get rid of vermin like you"

"VERMIN!? Y'all Shinra are the Vermin! Killing Gaia right from the core and that makes you the king of Vermin! Ya fucking RAT!"

For the first time the man in the big red suit gritted the cigar in his teeth a bit tighter. No sooner after his facial structure tightened he smiled again and turned his back to them. The sounds of helicopter getting closer was evident as he began walking back.

"I must say this conversation beginning to get dull, if you'll excuse me I'm quite a busy man and I have a dinner I must attend"

"Dinner!? FUCK THAT me and you got some business to settle first. I'm sure the devil won't have a problem with you being a little to the table."

Barret pointed his gun arm at the man and that second every rifle pointed at their position were heard cocking. With a slow hand the president raised his hand to his troops and they all slowly put their firearms down. As the helicopter now hovered right next to the president blowing his suit sporadically thanks to all the wind, he flicked his cigar off the catwalk and began getting in.

"Don't worry I'm leaving you a perfect playmate!"

Through the harsh sounds of the helicopter blades hovering both of them noticed the guards had left. In the distance, they saw a massive piece of machinery breaking the distance between them at an alarming rate. Tifa and Barret both leaped out of the way as the thing ran past them, it stopped then turned around to face them.

"Meet the Air buster, the latest in weaponry now if you'll excuse me"

With that the President of Shinra slipped away in his helicopter. Barret gritted his teeth as his one chance was ruined and got into focus in dealing with whatever the hell this damn thing was. It was massive, easily two stories in height, and it's faced caged with a red glow behind the bars. It came quickly towards Tifa and brought both mechanical hands down. The bartender tried her hardest to block against the blow, but she shrieked in pain as she was slammed to the ground and then vaulted a couple meters away. She tried to stand up as her forearms were bruised and her hands were shaking as she pushed herself off the ground. The busty fighter could easily feel the blood slip from her lips.

Barret was frantically shooting at the damn thing trying to draw its attention. They were in a jam, and it wasn't looking pretty. The set off explosion happening all around him told him, time was really winding down and it was just a matter of time before this whole place blew to kingdom come. Tifa winced as she pulled herself along the ground not bothering to wipe away the blood seeping from her mouth as the thing came after her once more. Barret kept roaring as he shot at the back of the damn thing and yelling at it to come after him.

"Over here YOU PIECE OF TIN CAN SHIT!"

As the robot went full throttle after the young woman Barret felt his heart drop fearing the worst.

"TIFA!"

The women closed her eyes as her vision became obstructed by black metal and waited for the end.

'CLANK'

The sound of metal hitting metal screeched through the night. Tifa after a long pause of gritting her teeth and holding her hand up finally opened her eyes. They widened in disbelief as a familiar blade came into focus. There stood the Ex-SOLDIER holding the large machine back from her just a meter or two away from her. His buster sword shook from the strength he was using to keep that thing in place. Cloud's purple long sleeve shirt flapping in the wind along with his baggy dark jeans, his boots firmly in place and his leather gloves gripping his handle with ease.

As he looked over his shoulder to look at her she stared questionably back. The woman's face saying it all as she wondered why he was there. He briefly locked eyes with her and explained.

"You were the one that said you wanted to experience it at least once"

With those words said Tifa couldn't fight back the smile that surfaced on her lips and Cloud merely grunted as he looked away from her. The blond really cut that one short, if he'd come a second later there'd be nothing to save (Barret's voice was heard roaring behind the machine as he was still shooting) well, nothing he'd found worth saving. Despite being in the battle the blond couldn't stop questioningly himself why he came. Sure was she was in trouble, but she was a grown ass woman. He'd contemplate it later, his childhood tendencies were a real bitch to get rid of though.

With a hard shove and push of his sword, the machine reared back unwillingly by the strength this old SOLDIER possessed. With a vertical chop the thing vaulted back and Cloud gripped his blade tighter as he stood unmoving were he was at. Legs slightly spread as he held his sword in between with both hands in his classic fighting pose; he contemplated his next course of action. The years of training now taking over again as scenario after scenario played through his head.

"Yo Spikey we gotta do somthin bout this damn bot"

He ignored the still shooting leader of AVALANCHE as he stared at the robot. It didn't give much more time to think though as he leaped up and avoided the same attack given to Tifa not so long ago. A giant crater on the catwalk of where he once stood now in place of him. Coming down from the air the blond exchanged a couple blows with the robot as his sword was clinking and clanking against the giant machine. With a hard swing Cloud raised his weapon to block most of his body as the velocity of the blow launched him in Barret's direction. The man still hard pressed that his bullets would eventually do something was still firing away at the back of the thing.

Cloud did a quick back flip and landed on his feet after being launched back from the thing. He stood next to Barret and he quickly grabbed him from the collar as he leaped over the machine as launched grenades were they previously stood. The catwalk was heard screeching after that attack and the split in two to the direction of the reactor. The T intersection was now just on big one going straight down. Cloud threw the yelling surprised man next to Tifa and turned around once more to face the machine. With its back still turned to them the blond instantly noticed the fuse at the back of the machine. Before giving a chance for that thing to turn around the blond leapt into action.

With both hands gripping his hand he put his sword over his head and brought sword straight down. He then brought his blade down to his right hip and slashed horizontally left. From there he brought the sword from his left hip and vertically chopped from left to right upwards. All those attacks hit the core fuse on its back perfectly. Sometimes you had to cut your way across.

'Cross Slash'

The attack and the damage it dealt was a success what the blond was not expecting was for the machine to suddenly initiate a self-destruct system immediately after. Preforming an easy front flip he landed hunched down in a squat a couple feet in front of the machine now sprinting full blast towards Tifa and Barret as electricity was seen flowing all over it. The blond still squatting used the momentum to launch himself like a rocket in Tifa direction. He appeared in front of her in a flash and slashed the machine vertically across once more rearing it back. Unfortunately he also initiated the self-explosion that machine was attempting to do. Yanking up Tifa by the wrist with ease, he took a left step forward and kicked his back leg up all while pushing his body forward to the ground. With his right hand he launched Tifa on Barret's chest with amazing strength. The brunette wasn't even given the reward to squeak when all that happened.

No later after that the blond quickly brought his sword across his body in a half ass attempt to block as much of the explosion as he could. The cat walk lit up with a massive explosion that formed a massive hole. Unfortunately the blond fell into the hole, dazed from the blast and not being able to react in time. He now gripped one of the concrete wires as he stared in panic as he saw the buster sword turn and flip to the floor below several feet below. As the blade looked smaller and smaller as it fell.

"Shit!" he cursed

Staring back up at the catwalk he saw Tifa trying to launch herself to his position which would have been a really stupid thing to do. Thankfully Barret was there to hold her hysteria in place. The hard wind blow from the frequent explosions was flinging him back and forth. The spikey haired Ex-SOLDIER knew it was just a matter of time now.

"Barret can't you do something?!"

"Not a damn thing darling"

"Cloud, please, please don't die, there's so much I want to ask you, so much I want to talk about"

The words she tried to say two days prior as he walked out of the bar finally surfaced. Tears in her eyes as the only thing stopping her from leaping after him was Barret's strength. Cloud looked sullen at that and smirked a small smile to himself as he stared at the long drop down.

"I know Tifa"

"Hey you gonna be awright?" Barret asked

"I'm dandy princess, get the hell out of here I feel like my effort was going to be waste if you two die, hey! Just do me a favor and look after Tifa"

"Can do, sorry bout all this"

"…. Stop talking like it's the end"

"Alright, later then"

At that exact moment the main charge to the reactor blew up and violent shook its surroundings. Cloud felt his hand finally lose grip and fell to the ground below. As he was falling though he couldn't help but smile at Barret's last comment. If the blond would have stared up he would have seen Barret forcibly yank Tifa from jumping after him as he pulled her away from the blast. The blond crossed his arms over his face as he fell and winced from the harsh wind ruffling him up. As the ground came closer and closer, he brought his feet in front of him while bending his legs. The last thing he remembered seeing was the brick roof of a building before everything went black.

/

'Hahahaha look at ya Cloud, Jesus back then you could get by with just skinned knees you know that'

'Zack….Shut the fuck up'

For some reason the laughing in the back of his head just grew after he said that.

/

Endless pitch black darkness…..

Cloud couldn't see a damn thing….

"Oh!, IT moved!"

'Huh?'

"Hello!, Hello!"

Cloud suddenly snapped his eyes and immediately regretted it as sunlight poured right into his vision. He grunted and shifted to his side as came back into conscious. The smell of fresh grass and pollen engulfed his senses as he shook his head off as he gripped the side of cranium. He quickly became aware of the small giggling sounds coming near him. Snapping over to the source of the sound there stood the one person he was waiting for at the courtyard in Section 8. She crossed her arms behind her back and leaned forward.

"You okay?"

Cloud felt his eyes immediately drawn to her chest, before he gave her the pleasure of catching his eyes staring at them he quickly stood and narrowed his eyes at her. He wasn't falling for that trick twice. The flower girl just laughed again as her little trick was flawed. She tilted her gorgeous face to the side as she stared him. The woman had to admit he wasn't bad on the eyes. That light pale skin, shiny blond hair and deep blue eyes gave him a sense of mystery. That uniform was the same as…. Does he know him?...

"Anyway this is a church in the Sector 5 slums, welcome"

If it was anyone else Cloud could easily feel himself getting annoyed but her voice….

Was so soothing….

"It suddenly fell from the roof and it scared the crap out of me when it landed right in front of me"

Cloud ignored how he was referred and instead began looking around. It was indeed a church, but he would bet the cloths on his back that no one attended it anymore it long since looked abandoned. Sunlight was pouring in from the massive hole he had just created and it made appear as if the flower bed beneath him was glowing.

"The roof and the flower must have broken your fall, talk about luck right?"

Cloud looked at flowers he just crushed and sighed inwardly as he dusted his jeans off.

"Sorry about that"

"Don't worry about the flowers here are resilient, you gotta be when you're living in the slums"

Cloud again was taken back from her smile. She was pretty no doubt about it. Her long brown hair was braided in the back and she let her bangs drop on both sides of her face. Her deep emerald eyes make Cloud uneasy from the warmth they spread, he can't help but feel like he's in the presence of his mother for some reason. If he had to rate the only woman he knew personally with her it'd be on different levels. Tifa was the kind of girl you would brag to all your friends that you nabbed at a club because of how ridiculously hot she was and this one looked as if this was the girl you'd bring back home to momma so she'd stop nagging you about finding a good girl.

'An angel?' the blond couldn't help but guess as she tended to the flowers and he moved off of them.

"I love it here, it's a good place if you want sometime to yourself not to mention its beautiful"

Even her voice was soft and perfect. Cloud was beginning to feel awkward as he scratched the back of his head and stared away from her watering her flowers. As he wiped his face off, his eyes widen as he remembered the buster sword. As if she already knew what he was thinking she merely pointed to the alter and there stuck perfectly in the center of the church stood his sword stuck in cobblestone.

"Thanks"

The blond simply muttered as he climbed up to it with ease. The flower girl secretly looking at him as she stared at him walking up to the sword at the top of the flower bed. Truth be told she actually tried to unhinge that blade for a good thirty minutes and she was pulling full force. There was some reason that giant blade reminded her of something she just couldn't quite place her finger on. So it she was stupefied when the man just gave it a little tug with his right hand and it came undone. After he did that he spun it one or two times and placed it back on his back. The woman went back to tending to the flowers when Cloud turned his back in her direction. There was a long pause and Cloud was getting annoyed at the fact that he couldn't really formulate words when he was around her. He can easily tell Tifa that she was annoying him, or to leave him alone if he needed too, so when he wanted to ask what her name was the words always caught him mid-throat.

"…..So we meet again"

The silence was finally broken.

"Yeah…"

"You remember me?"

She asked that question with a cocked eyebrow and a small smile on her face as if calling him out that if he really did. He looked away from her face and stared off to the side , for some reason she made him feel like such a little kid.

"Yeah, you were selling flowers up top at section 8"

"Oh you really do remember!, thanks for buying my flowers by the way"

The girl in pink laughed lightly in her hand as she stared at him. His whole body language awkward and the way he constantly broke eye contact while showing how annoyed he was spoke aloud on his communication skills. She'd be lying though if she said it wasn't cute, here this man was who obviously appeared as if he could easily handle himself in any situation but was just an awkward mess when dealing with people. She guessed this man despite the same uniform and looking sword was completely different than the previous one.

"Hey I'm in the mood for talking feeling up to it?"

Cloud stared blankly at her and answered truthfully.

"Not really, I got nothing to talk about…."

The angelic laugh erupted from her mouth again, for some reason it didn't annoy Cloud in the slightest when he was missing out on the joke for once. If there was one thing that easily pissed him off was when he was the butt of the joke, he always was when he was a kid and didn't take kindly to them as the several black eyes of his victims were anything to go by. For some reason though he detected no malice from her laughing at him, it was just genuine laughter not meant to be mean.

"You don't talk much do you?"

"…"

Again her laughter just rose from his apathy. She guessed he really wasn't like him, despite appearances. The brunette found herself liking that about him though, he was different. Once her laughter seized down and she was once more completely focused on flowers she was reminded of something.

"Oh now that you mention, we don't really know each other's names do we?"

Cloud didn't respond as anxiety rose from that statement. It was like a drum roll to an opening scene, where the crowd by this point was fed up with how long curtains were taking to open up. He stared over at the flower bed and felt the envelope in his pocket suddenly gain a large bit of weight.

"I'm Aerith Gainsborough, but everyone around just calls me Aeris and you are?.."

"Cloud…."

"Oh… like the sky huh?"

"Yeah…"

Cloud scratched the back of his head as he the envelope in his pocket felt as if it was pulsating. Here she was, the girl that tended to flowers, gorgeous, and eyes as green as the plains on Gaia. For someone so damn knuckleheaded like Zack, he at least got that description right. After a pause and the woman finishing up with the flowers.

Cloud decided to finish his mission of a man who risked it all so he would have the one he has today. The blond was never one to beat around the bush anyway and he saw no benefit in stalling handing over the letter. Walking over to the woman hunched down watering the flowers, he reached inside his pocket with his right hand. He fully extended his right arm and in his hands was the envelope he had been asked to get here. Aerith looked over her shoulder as her bangs hid her eyes and lightly grasped the letter.

"It's from him isn't it?"

Slightly surprised the blond let go of the letter he had been guarding with his life this far and stood up straight.

"Yeah…."

The blond gave her privacy and was about to start walking away towards the church exit when he heard her voice.

"Can you please stay a little longer, I just have to know"

Cloud looked over his shoulder and noticed she had completely unraveled it. Despite reading the letter, Cloud made sure not read the parts were Zack described his emotions. It wasn't his place and he sure as shit didn't want to know, he read the main keys and clues on where to find her and that was it. So he could only assume what she was reading, that and the fact that the man wasn't with him also explained what must of happened she probably just wanted him to confirm it. When he was confronted with Tifa in the same manner, the blond so very easily just walked out. He didn't know what it was that made him do it so apathetically. Maybe it was spite for the way she treated him as a child, payback for how she always lead him on and always broke him in half when she said she was just teasing him when she said she liked him. That bartender always running off on him and hardly ever showing up when he requested her too.

With her though there was no such history, and in her eyes was confliction. He stopped and turned around as he leaned on one of the church benches as crossed his arms.

"Yeah…. Go ahead"

"….Thank you"

/

It was a long pause, she must have reread it once or twice. She put a hair behind her ear and the silver bracelets on her wrists jingled slightly as she did. The woman stood up and smiled at the blond. No tears were in her eyes nor signs of grief.

"Tell me is he….."

"Yeah… Died taking out a couple hundred some grunts"

The blond responded as he stared at the church ceiling in remembrance of that rainy day.

"By the way the letters you sent him were blocked off from Shinra, it's not that he was ignoring you"

The Ex-SOLDIER didn't really know why that was relevant but for Zack's sake he felt like clarifying it. Aerith let her bangs hide her eyes once more as she held her chin with her thumb and index finger. A long silence befell the church, whether to give a moment of silence to a fallen SOLDIER or they were both too lost in their thoughts they didn't know.

Cloud's thoughts were cut off when he heard the sounds of paper ripping continuously. He stared in disbelief as the woman had ripped the letter over and over. After that she held her palm up to the open ceiling as a small gust took all the little scraps high in the air. A long pause was once more held.

"I think…"

"I think that's something he would of done if he ever received one of those letters….. oh and he'd do this as well"

Aerith stuck out her index finger and tapped the side of her forehead repeatedly. After that she balled up her fists and put them on her hips as she leaned forward. Exaggerating her smile and closing her eyes she held that pose for a good while.

"Who needs that when you got it stored in your head, I ain't ever gonna forget!"

Aerith said in the deepest voice she could muster to imitate a man. Cloud stared at her dumbfounded for the longest while and Aerith remained in that position as their eyes stayed locked with one another. When the blond blank faced cracked into a small smile however they both couldn't hold back the eruption of laughter. Aerith held her sides and Cloud leaned forward as he put both his palms on his quadriceps. They tried to contain their laughter awhile as it began to hurt their sides but every time they'd try the other would begin laughing and the whole thing would start over. At the end of it they both stared at the blue sky by opened ceiling in the church. If anyone would ever ask on how to describe Zack, Cloud would just say look at the sky.

"Hey Cloud…."

"Yeah?.."

"Was he a good man…"

She asked because despite all the letters and small interactions between them she never spent much time with him. Cloud who was next to his hip for the past couple of years smiled a small smile as he saw a feather flicker back into the wind at the very top of the church.

"He was more than a good man… He was a hero"

Before they could converse more the sounds of footsteps interrupted them. Both throwing a glance over their shoulder they noticed it was a man in a deep blue suit. The thing that stuck out most was his deep bright red hair and the long ponytail that followed behind him. He kept the top of his white shirt unbuttoned and blue suit top was lazily open. He had goggles at the top of his for whatever reason, Cloud assumed he was just an idiot. He was patting his shoulder with the metal rod and tilted his head at the presence of the blond guy.

'Turks?'

They also took notice at the high security this man was rolling with as many Shinra grunts entered in behind them. They spent not time behind the bushes as each man pointed their rifles at them.

"Hey Cloud have you ever been a bodyguard?"

The blond gripped the handle of his blade with his right hand as gripped her waist with his left and pulled her behind him. She smiled at the action and buried her face at the small of his back. He smelt oddly like Mako, not the chemicals that usually went along with it but just the earthy smell it naturally carries. His blade now firmly in his right hand, he merely stared as more and more troops began surrounding them in the church.

"No but the first day is on the house"

Ever the one to use dry humor he smiled blankly as red dots began littering their bodies.

"Yay I got it on sell!"

Cloud could see why Zack liked her…..

She was so fun


	4. Falling For an Angel

A/N:

I know y'all are wondering why I changed the name of the title to this story. That was due to the fact that I recently discovered there was another FF7 story with the same name. That was pretty much the only reason why, didn't like that fact so I changed it, simple enough? Ok moving on…

/

"Well… this has been a great morning so far"

Bemused the woman at his back poked her head off to the side of his body and saw the redhead ponytail blue-suited man that frequently comes in. Around him several Shinra foot grunts packing assault rifles all aimed at the high ready. Their sights obviously pointed at them as their bodies were riddled with red dots from their lasers. A long pause was held in the quiet church, the sunlight in the area glowed brighter and brighter indicating it was close to midday. The flowers shined with the sun's rays brightly oblivious to their surroundings at the moment.

Cloud narrowed his eyes at the blue suited man. His eyes were also infused in Mako and that smirk on his face was really irritating.

"I don't know who you are…. But that uniform…."

'Turks'

A flashback of remembrance surged through his mind. He remembered them they were a covert ops special unit that dealt with Shinra's dirtiest work. Special agents that were used for all variety of things. Reconnaissance, sabotage, theft, infiltration, spying, and if need be they murdered just as easily as anything else. If the blond had to reference them to something they were close to, it'd be a mafia. The grunts around the man began chuckling, something about him being weird.

"Reno, want him taken out?"

The red haired man now named, shrugged his shoulders indifferently proclaiming to them that he didn't really care. He tilted his head to the side once more and looked at Cloud over. Reno knew that was a First Class Uniform but he couldn't for the life of him recall who this man was. First Class only ever had a hand full and they were a very selective group. Something kept tapping him in the back of the head telling him he has seen this person somewhere before, he just couldn't line up all the dots at the moment.

Just as things were finally reaching there breaking point. Cloud was slowly unsheathing his blade, the happy triggered grunts were slightly pressing on the trigger a bit tighter, and each were about to take steps against each other, the blond felt someone tug at his arm. Aerith was amazed at the amount of expense Shinra was willing to put down to recapture her, the first couple of times she merely outran a good handful this time it was just plain fucking ridiculous.

"Cloud, you'll ruin the flowers if you fight in here"

The blond grunted in acknowledgement and paid no mind to breath that occurred on his ear from her just whispering into it. He kept his eyes on every single person in the room as he slowly began walking back towards the exit to his right in the back corner. Aerith jumped in front of him and immediately everyone pointed their weapons to the floor. The blond made a mental note of that action as he was pushed out towards the exit by the brunette. Whoever she was, she was of value of some sort.

As they ran towards the exit Reno walked to the center of the church as all the grunts sprinted past him.

"Watch the flowers!"

He yelled out and ignored the laughs from the men. They responded with smart ass comments as they skipped across the flower bed. Something to do with catching holy hell for stepping on heaven's property or some other bullshit. Right now the Turk was more concerned with the man they just encountered. What he saw were defiantly Mako infused eyes, something only SOLDIER implemented and that project was deadline some odd years ago.

Something to do with the subjects being to hostile and uncontrollable. Even with the fact that he was in the Turks, that information was classified. They stopped operations and disbanded its members after numerous incidents five years prior. The First Class unit at the time was notorious for causing many deaths. Especially one member who stood above the rest, the legendary swordsmen with the long silver hair. Reno shook his head off as he went after the grunts, he had to make sure the target was unharmed as his orders dictated.

Cloud helped Aerith hop over numerous ledges and holes in various paths. They could hear the yelling below indicating their location as they went higher and higher. Eventually they came across a ledge that was rather long in terms of distance. The crosswalk on the other side was far off and it'd take a big jump. Without missing a step the blond easily leapt over it, Cloud turned around and offered his hand to reassure her that he'd catch her. Aeris took a deep breath and just as she was about to jump gunfire was propelled in her direction. Before she knew she rolled down the giant pillar that was lying against the wall. In a rapid frantic she rolled to the floor below. She clutched her head dazed as she realized she had fallen all the way down to the bottom.

The blond gritted his teeth and began scanning his sectors. Looking up he saw many barrels on the attic up top of the church. He wasted no time in running full speed towards them. Effortlessly picking one up, he answered Aerith's cry for help as he threw as hard as he could to the ground below. The three grunts that were beginning to corner her into the back wall suddenly blacked out as a giant blow to the head reached their skulls. Looking up Aerith saw Cloud rain down barrel after barrel at every foot soldier that tried grabbing her. With taking that as her queue she began sprinting back up the numerous pathways. Before she knew it she was almost back to the long split path that led into this mess.

The Cetra growled in her head as she came to an abrupt halt. Blocking her path was the blue suited Turk, he sighed as he scratched the back of his head. He whipped out his metal rod and began closing the distance. He stopped when he was half way and he held out his hand.

"Last chance sweetheart"

"…"

"It's always gotta be the hard way with you doesn't it?"

Sighing he was about to start approaching her once more but the smirk on her face made him question his current scenario. Too bad his brain didn't get a chance to really decode what the meaning behind her expression meant considering her situation. Reno had one last glimpse at staring at the church ceiling before everything went black. Cloud had tied his arms around his waist and in one impressive display of power suplexed him. Reno hit the floor and the old wood foot panels gave out, resulting in a long drop to the ground below. Cloud would have thought him dead if it weren't for the groaning he heard seconds later. Now the ledge had an even greater distance to the other side thanks to that little stunt. Not one to be deterred the blond fixing his mistake this time, wrapped up Aeris like a bride and vaulted himself off the ledge. He made it seem so easy as he easily covered a good 15 meters in distance.

Before she knew she found herself at the roof of the church. Cloud set her down and scanned around, nothing but scrap metal surrounded his vision. This church might as well have been in the middle of an empty desert, nothing but broken parts concrete and metal were in sight. His musings were cut off when he heard his damsel in distress beginning to talk.

"Ha, there at it again…."

The blond didn't voice his thoughts at the comment as he went down to a knee beside her. They were both hunched down next to the massive hole he assumed he had created when he fell from the Mako Reactor. Inside grunts were running left in right and looking every which way, no doubt for whom. Two were slapping Reno away in the attempts of waking him up.

"They're the Turks… the guy in the blue suit"

"…"

"Don't know how you got involved with them, and I'm not one to pry but just be warned they aren't prone to assassination or murder if the end result of the latter cannot be avoided"

"….They seem like the type"

"Yeah…. Come on I think that's our sign"

Cloud was mentioning the fact that the foot soldiers were beginning to search the upper portions of the church. The blond long since realized their welcome was long overdue, it was time to leave. Aerith barely had a chance to catch of glimpse of the sword strapped to his back before she began hopping after him. After he leaped effortlessly from ledge to ledge, spot to spot Aeris began yelling at him to wait up. The man was like a cat, jump so fluently between position to position.

Cloud hearing her voice stopped and turned around. He noticed she had begun to trail and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He had never dealt with a woman who was so much like a female. While he waited for her to catch he stared up at Midgar plate above him. The giant missing gap at the top representing the now blown up Mako Reactor.

'What now?'

"Wait….. wait damn you"

The blond slightly bemused for once stared at the puffing flower girl. She really wasn't made out for combat but he had to give it to her in terms of heart. For some reason the blond couldn't fight down the small chuckles that escaped his lips as his shoulders raised from the action slightly. A little aggravated the woman stared at him annoyed waiting for him to explain himself.

"For a second there I actually thought that Turk was looking to recruit you for SOLDIER"

"Oh you're terrible!"

Now they were both laughing as they stood atop the middle of Midgar's ruins. The blond couldn't describe what it was, but being around Aeris made him feel at ease. With other people he could easily be distant but with her it was almost impossible to keep that up. He felt normal around her, like he wasn't a genetic induced freak that was once in a selective group of Special Forces. No he just felt like a regular guy, with no history to speak of nor adventures to know of.

She was warm….

Yeah that best described her perfectly.

The blond put thoughts of his future on hold for now as he led out of the scrap pile. Before they knew they were beginning to descend to ground level. The blond could see other people now as well. After he hunched down from the last jump and stood back up he waited for the brunette. The people around for worse for ware, no doubt this was one of the many poverty stricken little towns found in Midgar. There was no common ground in this place; you're rather really rich, or really poor.

"Come on my house is this way, we should hurry before that man gets back up and starts trouble again"

The blond felt her tug his sleeve and decided for the moment this was his only plan. Taking her lead he walked behind her with his hands in his pockets and ignored all the greeting they gave the brunette as they walked by person after person. It was no surprised she'd be well liked, after navigating through the small town slum they reached her house. Out a little bit away was a massive garden and the small sounds of a waterfall. The sun shined so bright here, as it illuminated the impressive display of flowers.

Aerith walked up to her door and began taking out her key. The home was old, the roof was made of various red bricks and it carried an old fashion sense. The area around here smelled like lilies and pollen.

"Come on in"

The way she smiled and walked in gave him an awkward feeling. It was as if he was brought to meet her family for the first time after a long time of dating, the feeling was very foreign. Scratching the back of his head and sighing to himself he walked in after her. Her house tight and need kept, which didn't surprise the SOLDIER. A table was located dead center of the house, a book case to the left, the kitchen was to the right, and a set of stairs were seen straight ahead. The sounds of the kitchen stove being used made it evident someone else was in the home.

"Mom! I'm home"

Aerith went to the center of the table and began spreading the gil in her pockets, no doubt her earnings from selling her flowers. An elder woman came out of the kitchen wiping her hands off on her apron. Small little signs of grey hairs were forming on the sides of her tide back hair. She had a green dress with brown shoes on and her hair was tide back in a bun. Her coffee brown hair had a golden clip on her left side, and her bangs slightly poked out on the right side. Wiping off her forehead she gave a polite smile to the guest and then showed her agitation to her daughter. Hands on her hips and repeating tapping of her right foot finally caught Aeris's attention.

"Young lady why are you so late?"

"Oh you know ran into a fork in the road"

"Hmph, and who's this young man?"

"My bodyguard"

"Bodyguard!?"

Cloud turned away from them and felt out of place. He couldn't stop scratching his head in an attempt fight down his unease. The mother rushed to her daughter's side and began inspecting her.

"Mother!"

"You were followed again weren't you!?"

"….."

"You're not hurt are you?!"

"Mom, I'm perfectly fine, I had Cloud with me"

The pink dressed girl was getting annoyed how her mother was making her lift her arms and kept checking for spots on her face.

"Cloud?.."

The mother now staring over at the man, whoever he was one thing was for sure and that was that this man is dangerous. Those mako eyes made her very uneasy as she knew what amount of trouble the other one had caused for her poor little girl. She never got to meet him, she'd just hear stories from Aeris in the letters they wrote to each other. If anyone knows not get involved with military men it was her, and she wasn't going to have Aerith walk the same path she did. Cloud grunted and averted his eyes from the mother, the scrutiny he was feeling being directed at him was beginning to agitate him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Cloud. I'm Elmyra"

The blond shook her hand in confirmation and he gave a small nod as a way of saying like wise. The woman went up the stairs and Aerith's was done organizing her earnings as she walked over to him.

"So what are you going to do now?"

That was the million dollar question indeed, what happens now? He didn't have the answer at the moment; since he's been out of his coma and fought off the Mako poisoning his only goal was to get to Midgar. Even that was because Zack wanted to go there, at the time though he really needed to see a doctor, the blond was amazed how he managed to recover from that. He didn't have a purpose; his only goal was to let his friend rest in peace. For some reason the blade on his back felt a little heavier at the question.

'You're gonna live for the both of us'

'You'll be my living legacy'

'My Honor, My Dreams…. They're yours now'

Cloud flinched in pain at the remembrance of those words. Even now they still sting, Aerith came around and looked at his face in worry.

"You alright Cloud?!"

Shaking his head off and getting back on topic.

"Is sector 7 far from here?... I want to go to Tifa's bar"

To this Aerith looked genuinely surprised at the mention of a girl.

"Is Tifa… a girl?"

"…..Yeah?"

"She a girlfriend?"

To that Cloud actually clicked his teeth together and grunted.

"Hell no"

Aerith couldn't fight back her laughter at his reaction. It was as if she just poured acid on his face when he thought about it. Shaking her head off, she fanned her hand back and forth in front of her face.

"Come on now, you don't have to get that upset"

"….."

"Well, that's nice…. Hmmm sector 7? I can show you the way"

"You've done enough as is, the rest I'll manage on my own"

"Mom! I'm taking Cloud to Sector 7!"

The blond merely felt his eyebrow twitch as he sighed inwardly. This woman was so stubborn, that was for damn sure. After her declaration her mother was seen coming down the stairs looking as exasperated as Cloud was by the recent news. She was about to begin a long speech but when she saw the glimmer in her daughters eyes she already she had her heart set out on her decision. Really this girl would be the end of her one day, why couldn't she find a nice boy that had no background towards the military like this one, go out on the country side and settle down. Rubbing her temples Elmyra sighed as she shook her head.

"That's fine dear, but if you have to go then wait until tomorrow, it's already pretty late now. I'll give the spare room to Cloud for the night if need be"

"Yeah you're right mom it is pretty late"

Aerith finally taking notice on how the sun was beginning to set agreed to her mother's request. She thought nothing of it when she was asked to go prepare the spare room for Cloud but the blond narrowed his slightly at the request. From the second he came in here, that woman's been dying to tell him something and he just knew it. The woman had her arms crossed and looking slightly over her shoulder to confirm Aeris was going up the stairs. Once she was out of sight, there was a long stagnant pause.

"I mean you no ill will and don't take this the wrong way, but I'd strongly appreciate it if you could leave tonight"

Cloud nodded in understanding, hell that was something his own mother would have said.

"That glow in your eyes… are you in SOLDIER?"

"I used to be…."

"Argh… that girl"

Cloud couldn't help but smile to himself at that statement. From the sounds of things madam Aerith seemed to like chasing after trouble. The blond ignored the comment of this happening for a second for he could only assume to what knucklehead she was referring to. Cloud stuck his hands in his pockets and began walking up to his bed for the night. Thoughts on what the future held for him now plagued his mind. They were cut short however when he saw Aerith waiting at the top.

"You have to traverse through sector 6 if you want to get through all the way to 7, Sector 6 is a little dangerous due to the radiation and odd creatures it holds due to that fact so you might want to get as much rest as possible"

Cloud grunted his acknowledgment as he began walking to his room. The second floor was just like the first, tight and well kept. A book case out to the right and several portraits that hung along the walls. As he reached the handle to his room for the night he heard Aerith call out to him.

"Cloud?"

"….Yeah?"

"Goodnight"

The flower girl responded smiling as she began to trek down the stairs. Cloud finding himself feeling awkward and out of place never responded as he opened the door to his room. Gorgeous, with eyes as green as all the plains of Gaia. That description couldn't have been more right. The blond sighed as he set his blade carefully as it rested along the wall. He took of his purple zip up shirt and was left with the white T-shirt underneath. After he took off his boots he laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

'What now?'

He didn't know, for the longest time he had his mind set out on what he just accomplished. He thought he would have been spending a good time trying to find this mystery girl, not simply just falling out of the sky and landing right into her. The lights to the room were off and he cast a gaze over to his buster sword. The massive blade glimmered slightly at the edge despite the darkness. The blond gave it a long gaze before returning it back towards the ceiling. The blond decided for the most part, the least he could do was return the blade back to the battlefield and lay it to rest were its previous fought till his death. Musing on what kind of job he'd look for were playing through his head. He couldn't be Zack and just go around asking for odd jobs. Cloud was never a jack of all trades like that black haired SOLDIER always proclaimed himself to be.

The blond would do that one last final act and hang it up he guessed. The days of wanting to be a hero and be acknowledged were long since passed him, it didn't change anything anyway. A delivery boy huh? He couldn't recall where he heard that but for some reason that didn't sound too bad. The blond always wanted his own motorcycle and just get on it to go see the world. Let the wind be his guide and the road his path, scenario after scenario on what the future held for him kept playing through his head. Now he truly felt his future was his, no longer was he going out to prove something to someone else nor was he falling down a directive path due to honor, no now it was his choice and he found himself feel lighter with that fact. Before he knew it his eyes were beginning to grow heavy and thoughts of all the things he could do just kept running through his head. For some reason a delivery service just seemed to stick.

/

'You seem pretty tired…'

'Huh?'

"That's probably because I haven't slept in a bed like this in a long time."

'Oh yeah now I remember'

"My, how you've grown!"

"I bet the girls never leave you alone"

"….not really"

"I'm worried about you hun."

"I hear there are a lot of temptations out in those big cities"

"I feel a lot better if you just settled down and had a nice girlfriend"

"I'm alright"

"You should have…. An older girlfriend, one that would take care of you, just like a told you when you were a kid Cloud, I'm telling you that would be the best type for you"

"…..I'm not interested, mom"

He remembered her sighing as she scratched her head.

"So you're not going to tell anyone who you are behind that get up?"

"I shouldn't have told you"

The mission had him undercover and was to be portraying just a standard grunt. He was extra security for Zack and Sephiroth, in the off chance that the intelligence they received was true and someone was gunning for SOLDIERs of First Class.

"You haven't told that Tifa girl about your mission have you?"

He recalled his mother washing dishing after that.

"…..No"

"I swear you leave and next thing you know she constantly asks for you. Really if she cared so much why didn't she talk to you when you were hear"

"…"

"I know that girl just didn't want to be seen by her friends talking to you, Cloud honey be careful around her ok?"

"….."

If Cloud knew back then that, that would have been his last conversation with his mother he would have spent it far better.

/

Blinking and then sitting up the blond realized he slept far longer than he intended. The clock said three in the morning and he was going to leave around midnight. Sighing he sat up and began rubbing his face. After he put his boots back on and threw on his long sleeve purple zip up he went for his blade. The house was quiet and he assumed the Gainsborough family was asleep. He recalled Aerith saying that Sector 7 was beyond Sector 6, he should be alright by himself as he quietly opened the door from his room. Everything was pitch black and he didn't want to wake neither of two sleeping occupants. Remembering Aerith's mother's request he knew his welcome was long overdue.

Cloud stealth fully exited the second floor and then the house all together. Not wasting any time he began lightly jogging in the direction of Sector 6. The night sky was still in the air and everything was quiet as he passed by the small town in the slums. He came upon the giant gaping hole in the wall that led into Sector 6 as he was about to step through it he was caught off guard by the small coughing sounds coming behind him.

Turning around he was shocked to see Aerith standing there with arms crossed and a quirked eyebrow. Scratching the back of his neck and turning away from her, he tried thinking of something to say. Evidently she was a patience one as she began tapping her right foot. Cloud ignored how eerie it was similar to her mother.

"Well you're up bright and early"

"Listen, I just thought it'd be best if I went the rest of the way by myself-"

"Are you done?"

"…..Yeah"

"Well you have to go through the slums of Sector 6 to get to Tifa's bar so come on"

Before the man could stop her she took off through the opening and he scratched the front of his forehead. He was beginning to see what her mother meant by once deciding on something she was hard headed to do it. Knowing it'd be in his best interest to follow after her, he did and before they knew it they by passed most of the dangers Sector 6 had to offer. Before Cloud knew they were in front of a beaten down and tore up playground. Aerith walking ahead pointed at the massive gate that blocked off Sector 6.

"The gate to Sector 7 is in there"

"I appreciate it, guess this where we part ways?"

"Oh no! whatever will I do?!"

Cloud sweat dropped and looked away at that small acting scene. He felt himself getting agitated by her stubborn will. It's not that he didn't appreciate the company it was just this far out into Midgar he expected himself alone. He presumed he could just ditch her if it really got that bad, but if anything happened to her he couldn't help feeling responsible.

"Well was that what you expected me to say?"

Cloud snorted and looked at her seriously.

"Not necessarily but I guess you could've token a hike"

Aerith pouted her lips at him as she leaned forward and he merely showed his indifference. After a long while of that, Aerith covered her mouth with her hand and giggled softly.

"You know you can have that cute face as much as you want but you're no Casanova!"

"….."

"Come on let's take a break"

Aerith took the lead and went into the center of the old playground. Like everything else in the slums everything was covered in scrap metal. The old playground rusted and corroding. The brunette looked genuinely surprised when she came across a giant slide that had what appeared to be a big cat.

"I can't believe it's still here"

Aerith climbed to the top of the slide, in between the big cat ears poked out on the sides. Cloud leaned up against it arms crossed but was interrupted when Aerith coughed sarcastically in her hand. Looking over at her, she pointed down to a spot next to her with her index finger. Taking the hint the blond hopped up and joined her as they both stared out. Nothing but old metal was seen, with a bit of Midgar's base.

"So what rank were you?"

"Hmm?"

"You know in SOLDIER?"

"First Class"

"So you were the same as him?"

"…..We were partners for the longest time actually"

"Oh…"

"Back then when that knucklehead was trying to get into First Class, we got paired up in Second Class."

"….."

"Were you guys serious?"

"No, I really liked him though but I never really ever got the chance to truly know him, he was nice and always so full of energy"

"….Yeah"

"He never even met my mother, said he was scared to after our first date"

As she said that she fingered her pink ribbon that was what tides her pony tail down. Cloud eyeballed that action for a second before shaking his head and continuing to stare off into space. Reminiscing about his old friend tended to leave him nostalgic and at the same time with so much pain. It took so much out of them to become free from the grips that bent them. The Price of Freedom Sure is Steep as he used to say coursed through Cloud's head.

"As much as it pains me to say I never really knew Zack that well, we only saw each other sparsely but we were so young back then"

"…"

"So what about you Cloud?"

"Hm?"

"Do you have Ex?"

Snorting the man half smiled to himself in pity as he looked away from her.

"Nope"

"What about this Tifa? Who is she?"

"Just an old friend"

"Oh? So no history at all?"

"Nope"

"You've never dated any woman at your age?"

For some reason this sudden change of conversation was beginning to piss him off.

"Me and females don't really mix"

"Oh, so you're…."

Catching on to what she was implying Cloud immediately felt shivers run down his spine.

"I ain't gay"

The thought of another male being intimate with him gave him a strong urge to hurl from his stomach. No doubt thoughts of him being a virgin at 21 were beginning to surface through her head. Little did she know thanks to Zack's many drunken escapes back in Junon lead him into many naked embraces with random females. He felt at the moment that fact would do nothing but sour the mood to he bit his tongue and did his best to ignore her giggles.

"You're too easy to tease Cloud relax. I know you're not with the way you try you're hardest not to stare at my breast and then peek at them when you think I'm not looking"

Too this Cloud actually blushed and stared at her eyes slightly wide at the statement. This just further increased her laughter as her sides began to hurt. He grumbled to himself about women and felt his eye twitch as his cheeks were slightly flushed from embarrassment. He honestly thought he hadn't been caught this whole time. As annoyed as he was the blond couldn't himself to be mad at her for laughing, her voice just sounded so…. Heavenly.

They were so enwrapped with their conversation and poking funs that they didn't notice the gate to Sector 7 open. The Ex-SOLDIER took notice of a trace of long brown hair as it was carried away on the carriage. It was led by a Chocobo and it looked extravagant amongst all the rusted pieces of metal. It didn't take long of the blond to notice the person at the back of the cart was none other than Tifa. Abruptly standing up surprising Aerith, he narrowed his eyes and confirmed his suspension it was Tifa. He didn't know how long she had been staring but it was evident she too had acknowledged his presence as their gazes interlocked for a brief moment. The blond felt something off when he saw her current state of dress and the fact that she didn't just hop off the thing nor showed any real emotion to the fact that he was found alive. Her gaze drifted off elsewhere near him and before he could yell out she was carried away. Aeris had picked up who she was thanks to Cloud's facial expressions and she couldn't help but feel a little bit of hostility when the woman's gaze had been directed at her.

A long pause ensued after the occurrence and before Cloud knew it Aeris had hopped down. She ran on ahead and looked over her shoulder as she smiled.

"Come on, we gotta go get her don't we?"

Cloud was about to yell at her to go home and that he had it from here, but low and behold he knew that this woman wasn't going to listen.

She was just so damn hard headed…..

Like his mother always told him, if he met a girl like that she'd knew instantly that Cloud would like her…..

His mom was right…..

He did.


End file.
